Description
Queen Elizabeth II’s 65th Anniversary of reign, known as a Sapphire Jubilee, was the first of its kind in over 2000 years of British royal history! No other monarch has ever reached this milestone.
Queen Elizabeth II’s history-making reign
A Sapphire Jubilee, or 65th year of reign, is an exceptional achievement and has never been celebrated before – Queen Elizabeth II is the only British monarch ever to celebrate this milestone.
Hers was a reign without equal – she reigned through the Cold War, the Space Age, the Computer Age, and the Digital Age, and through all this time she represented our nation with dignity, grace, wisdom and charm.
This milestone is in addition to the many other great achievements of her reign – chief amongst them is that she is our nation’s longest reigning monarch – and these will ensure Queen Elizabeth II’s place as one of Britain’s greatest ever monarchs.
In 2018, to commemorate the Sapphire Jubilee, PROOF quality versions of Britain’s regular St George and the dragon gold sovereigns featured a special one-time-only privy mark to commemorate the Sapphire Jubilee!
These coins themselves are IMPORTANT in British coinage history.  This is only the second time in history that a privy mark has appeared on a British sovereign, BUT IT IS THE FIRST time one has appeared on the half sovereign and quarter sovereign!
The Privy mark is a number ‘65’ inside a crown, a tribute to Her Majesty’s 65 years on the throne (Sapphire Jubilee).
The three coins that feature in this Prestige Set – sovereign, half sovereign and quarter sovereign – were only in Proof quality and all three feature this one-off privy mark – the regular strikes in 2018 didn’t have the privy mark, they were just St George and the dragon.
The maximum mintage of any of the coins in this set is 4,650 so that means that’s the maximum issued but the reality is that now, very few are available.
Interest in significant coins of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign is booming, and so this set is of great importance
Sovereigns, St George, and the monarchy
The sovereign depicts St George slaying the dragon, a motif with great symbolism as it has always been seen as the role of the monarch to defend his or her subjects. It is significant too that the names of this coin – sovereign – is an alternative for the monarch.
